While thousands of Cubans endure power outages of up to 20 hours daily and the informal exchange rate hovers around 673 pesos per dollar, the regime has found another way to pay tribute to the deceased dictator: turning the traditional Crossing of the Bay of Matanzas into an event honoring the centenary of Fidel Castro. According to the Cuban News Agency, the sports event—now in its 56th edition this year—was officially presented as a "salute to the birthday of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution."
The competition, held this Saturday, consisted of swimming 2.5 kilometers from the old Captaincy of the Port of Matanzas to El Tenis Beach. The winner was Héctor Calatayú Santana, an employee of the Etecsa Matanzas team, who completed the course in 37 minutes and 46 seconds without, according to the official press, "signs of exhaustion and satisfied with the result."
The newspaper Girón, the local mouthpiece of the regime, described the achievement with its characteristic enthusiasm: "The strokes begin forcefully from the old Captaincy of the Port of Matanzas. The 2.5-kilometer journey may seem close, but making one's way through the waters of the bay and its currents requires much more than just will." No one in the newsroom seemed to notice the irony that, for many Cubans, obtaining food or electricity also requires much more than mere will.
The statement from the state agency did not hold back on propagandistic embellishments. A social media user was quoted as saying that the participants "challenge their bodies while honoring a man who was not afraid of challenges." It is worth adding that this is the same man who, for decades, challenged his people with hunger, repression, and misery.
El Periódico Girón added, with its usual solemnity, that "the Bay Crossing is more than a competition among swimmers of different ages; it is a challenge for those who decide to confront themselves with the sea as a witness." A beautiful metaphor for a competition that, in 2026, the regime has framed within its propaganda machinery for the centenary, just as it did with the circus in Ciego de Ávila, the "revolutionary" blood donations, and the escort walks throughout the island.
The competition, whose tradition dates back to the 1970s, has accumulated more than five decades of history and is coordinated by the Sports Directorate in Matanzas. In its 2024 edition, it brought together 74 swimmers aged between 12 and 82 years. For the 2025 event, the participation of over 150 Cuban athletes was announced, along with a delegation from Mexico, which, according to INDER, marked the first international participation in the event's history. The record for the course belongs to former triathlete Michel González Castro, who completed the challenge in 29 minutes and 43 seconds on August 12, 2018.
But the swimming crossing is just the appetizer. The official press announces that from August 11 to 14, the Cultural Week "Fidelísimos" will take place in Matanzas, featuring performances by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Afrocuba, the Failde Orchestra, and the Cantata Arte Fiel, along with exhibitions, discussions, and a final gala at the Teatro Sauto. Nationally, the regime has scheduled the I International Colloquium "Fidel: legacy and future" from August 10 to 13 at the Palace of Conventions in Havana, and this weekend, leftist Italians have arrived on the island to join the celebrations.
All this is happening while the National Electric System has already experienced at least seven total collapses in 2026. Four days before the sporting event, on August 4, a historic record electrical deficit of 2,411 MW was recorded, with blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day in some provinces.
The ACN, true to its mission, concluded its report on the sporting event by remembering that the activities aim to "encourage popular participation and connect with history and nature." What it did not mention is that connecting with nature is much easier when there is no electricity to do anything else.
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